A3291 / 17 - THE RUSSIAN FEDERAL SPACE AGENCY HAS PLANNED A MISSILE LAUNCH. DEBRIS FROM THIS LAUNCH WILL FALL WI AN AREA DEFINED AS 2601N16042E TO 2330N16332E TO 2246N16247E TO 2518N15956E TO POINT OF ORIGIN. IN THE INTEREST OF SAFETY ALL NON-PARTICIPATING AIR TRAFFIC ARE ADVISED TO AVOID THE NOTAMED AREA. IFR ACFT UNDER ATC JURISDICTION SHOULD ANTICIPATE CLEARANCE AROUND THE NOTAMED AREA. SFC - UNL, DLY 2200-0030 , 16 AUG 22:00 2017 UNTIL 20 AUG 00:30 2017. CREATED: 09 AUG 13:47 2017

August 17: A Proton rocket to launch the Blagovest No. 11L military communications satellite from Baikonur. The launch was previously planned for September and October 2016 and then the end of June 2017. On July 3, 2017, ISS Reshetnev, the spacecraft manufacturer, announced that the satellite had been delivered to the launch site.

According to sources familiar with the matter, the Blagovest launch campaign had to overcome a number of technical problems under a very tight deadline. During the assembly of the first stage, a wrong cable connection in the strap-on tanks pushed the preparations at least one day behind schedule. Next, engineers discovered problems with several avionics units requiring urgent air deliveries of replacements from Moscow. Even a dynamometric key used in processing turned out to be defective, while its hastily delivered replacement turned out to be foreign-made, which military controllers banned from operations.

Facing multiple problems, the team had to work overnights and over a weekend, but managed to complete the assembly at the Proton's processing complex on time for the rollout of the launch vehicle to the Pad 24 at Site 81 on August 13. However the State Commission overseeing the launch and convened on August 12, had to authorize the rollout to the pad and liftoff on August 17. Although there were no technical hurdles before the mission at that point, Pad 24 had been formally certified for operations only until July 31, 2017, industry sources said. Fortunately, a formal waiver extending the pad operations until July 31, 2019, was signed on August 10, clearing the way for the rollout of the rocket as originally scheduled. The vehicle was installed on the launch pad in preparation for liftoff at 01:07 Moscow Time on August 17 (6:07 p.m. EDT on August 16).